How to Determine the Best App for Managing Social Media

Hawthorn berries.

How to Determine the Best App for Managing Social Media

Aaron Agius

Before you jump headfirst into the next trendy social media management tools, 

make sure you ask these questions.

Q: What are the best free apps for social media management?

I am a bit familiar with Hootsuite, Zoho social, Klout and Buffer

but want to see what is the best and how they compare.

A: You’ve hit on a few of the top social media management tools out there, but there are 

a few others I’d recommend taking a look at as well, including SocialOomph, Sprout Social, TweetDeck, CrowdBooster, MeetEdgar and IFTTT/Zapier.

At Louder, we use Buffer, specifically the Buffer for Business plan, that lets us bulk upload

social updates via Excel file. I can’t tell you if that’s the right option for you,

since I don’t know what kind of campaigns you’re running or what your marketing objectives are.

There are a lot of questions I’d suggest you answer before investing in a tool,

including the following:

What networks will I be posting to?

HootSuite is a popular, social media management tool, but it only posts to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn but not Pinterest.

If you need Pinterest management, you’ll need to choose a suite that includes it (like Buffer)

or a standalone Pinterest tool (Tailwind).

What features are important to me?

This is where the tools I mentioned above differentiate themselves. MeetEdgar, for example,

focuses specifically on recycling old content from your social channels to increase their engagement and decrease the amount of time you have to spend curating new content.

IFTTT and Zapier, on the other hand, are strictly automation tools.

They’ll auto-load your new blog posts to your Facebook page, for example, but they won’t give you the analytics reporting tools of a platform like Zoho Social or Sprout Social.

Klout is best for individuals trying to build their personal brands through social content.

The company’s companion Lithium supports business brands and agencies

with a more fully-featured platform.

SocialOomph offers social mention monitoring tools,

as well as follower suggestions for building an audience.

Get the idea?

Before you choose a tool, you need to sit down and figure out what you want it to do.

From there, you can narrow down your possible options based on their features and functionality.

Will I be running paid campaigns alongside my organic social updates?

You didn’t mention whether you’d be doing organic social, paid social or both,

but if you will be running paid campaigns, you’re going to be looking at an entirely different set

of tools (with the exception of Sprout Social, which can handle both to some degree). 

Trackur, Social Report and Webfluenz might be worth looking into.

Will multiple team members be using the tool?

Think about the scope of your social media campaigns. If you’re a one-person shop,

pretty much any of the tools I’ve mentioned so far can be made to work for your needs.

There are, however, situations where having multiple user accounts makes sense.

In a larger organization where social media is used as much for customer service

as it is for marketing, it can be helpful to be able to assign required responses

to a customer service rep or escalate difficult questions to a manager.

In these cases, setting up multiple users means the appropriate people

receive individual notifications about the tasks they need to follow up on,

rather than a free-for-all system that risks missing messages.

What can I afford?

The last question you should ask, of course, is what you can afford.

The tools I’ve mentioned are all across the board in terms of price,

with everything from free options to tools that cost hundreds of dollars per month.

This is a great time to cut that features list I talked about earlier from

“would be nice” to “must have.”

As more features generally means more money, understanding your budget will also help you choose the right tool based on the features that are truly most important for your company.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/287081

Turbo Charged Reading: Read fast>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later

Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR software and engineering manuals for spontaneous recall – or pass that exam.

I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.

I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.

Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube  

How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

www.facebook.com/mreenhunt

www.pinterest.com/mreenhunt

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:

www.turbochargedreading.blogspot.com    

All aspects of regular, each-word reading and education.

Turbo Charged Reading uses these skills significantly faster

www.innermindworking.blogspot.com         gives many ways for you to work with the stresses of life

www.mreenhunthappyartaccidents.blogspot.com      just for fun.

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”

7 Ways to Improve Your Content Marketing Strategy

Pendle Hill in Lancashire UK

7 Ways to Improve Your Content Marketing Strategy

John Rampton

If you're engaging in any type of content marketing - social media, blogging, eBooks, etc.

 - you have a content marketing strategy. While it may not be an official, documented strategy,

you likely aren't just producing content for content's sake.

You likely have content goals (if only vague ones),

a loose publishing schedule and a general idea of the types of content you plan to publish.

If you're doing any of these, I believe you have a content marketing strategy.

Now, let's make that strategy even better. Here are seven ways to improve your content marketing strategy to make it more intentional and more effective.

1. Document your strategy.

It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Even a three-page document that lays out your content marketing goals and plans is better than nothing.

According to the Content Marketing Institute, 53 percent of the most effective B2B content marketers have a documented strategy. Marketers who don't document their strategy

are more likely to report that content marketing just isn't effective for them.

If you want to get the best results from your efforts, take the time to write down your strategy.

If you're not sure where to start, here are some excellent resources you can use:

The Moz Content Strategy

Hubspot's Content Planning Template

Buffer's Content Marketing Strategy Template

My personal: Content Marketing Guide

2. Meet with your team more often.

Whether you have a dedicated content marketing team or not, 

it's important to meet regularly with those responsible for your content creation and promotion.

We know that the most effective marketers meet either daily or weekly. 

If you're meeting with your team less often, 

there's a good chance that important tasks are falling through the cracks.

Wondering what to talk about in these meetings?

Discuss any new content that was created since the last meeting.

Was it effective? What could you do better?

Look to the week or month ahead and divvy up content marketing tasks or responsibilities.

Talk about what your competitors have been up to, and how you can improve on their content.

Brainstorm topic ideas, or discuss trending topics that could be covered by upcoming content.

3. Have specific business goals for your content.

When I ask business owners what they hope to accomplish from their content, 

nine times out of 10 they say, "Increased sales". But the reality is that there are few times 

when a single piece of content can be directly tied to revenue.

So, what realistic business goals can you set out for your content? 

Some of the most common are increased leads, brand awareness 

(keeping your company top of mind) and customer retention.

Keep in mind that some business goals can be a little lofty - and difficult to track.

For instance, who doesn't want increased brand awareness? But if you're going to state this 

as a goal for your content marketing efforts, how are you going to know if you've achieved it?

This is where tracking specific metrics come in.

4. Know which metrics you're going to track.

Monitoring the performance of your content will help you determine whether it's helping you

meet your goals (see #3). Relevant content marketing metrics could include hard metrics 

like leads, traffic and sales, or soft ones like social media engagement.

In his post, The 4 Types of Content Metrics That Matter, 

Jay Behr lays out a great framework for deciding which metrics to track:

Consumption metrics: Pageviews, downloads, visits, etc.

Sharing metrics: How many times is your content shared on social media?

Lead generation metrics: 

How often do visitors opt-in to your list, submit a form or request a quote?

Sales metrics: How often do leads turn into actual sales?

Your content marketing strategy should clearly articulate which metrics you're going to track,

and how you're going to track them. Otherwise, you have no way of knowing 

if your efforts are working...or which efforts are working.

5. Become more buyer-centric.

Your content marketing strategy needs to be about more than you or your business.

Yes, you need to track relevant metrics and have business goals.

But just as your actual content needs to be customer-centric, so does your content strategy.

Understanding how your readers, customers and clients want and need to interact with you 

is key. Carlos Hidalgo of Chief Content Office Magazine lays out 

3 elements of a buyer-centric content strategy:

Understanding what motivates buying behavior among your audience

Knowing which types of content your audience prefers, 

and how and where they want to access it

Understanding your visitors' path to purchase...

and then using your content to move visitors through this path

Paying close attention to your website analytics will be key to figuring out

each of these three elements.

6. Know how you'll promote and distribute your content.

It's common for business owners to spend the majority of their time on content creation.

While it's true that content marketing can't work without high-quality content, that's only one piece of the puzzle. Having a plan for how to get your content in front of your audience is key.

This is where a solid content distribution plan comes in.

Unfortunately, many businesses struggle with this. According to research from Altimeter,

while 53 percent of business owners know they need a content distribution strategy,

only 26 percent actually invest in one.

Instead of creating content and hoping for the best, have a plan for how, when and where

you're going to promote and distribute each new piece of content you create.

7. Use a consistent ROI calculation.

How will you know if your content marketing is successful?

This is where many content marketing strategies fall short.

You can track goals and metrics all you want, but if you don't have a calculation in place 

to measure content marketing costs and revenues, 

you'll never know if your efforts are actually worthwhile.

How you calculate content marketing ROI is far less important than just being consistent about it. Choose a calculation that work for you, and then use it consistently.

Here are some methods you can use to calculate your ROI:

A Simple Method to Measure Content Marketing ROI

How We Calculate the ROI of Our Content Marketing

The Ultimate Guide to Measuring the ROI of Content Marketing

There is no one-size-fits-all template or formula you need to use

for your content marketing strategy. Simply documenting your content marketing plans and goals

is a great first step...and will undoubtedly help boost the effectiveness of your efforts.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/274622

Turbo Charged Reading: Read More>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later

Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR specialist and language dictionaries that are spontaneously accessed.

I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.

I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.

Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube 

How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:

www.turbochargedreading.blogspot.com  

All aspects of regular, each-word reading and education.

Turbo Charged Reading uses these skills significantly faster

www.innermindworking.blogspot.com         many ways for you to work with the stresses of life

www.mreenhunthappyartaccidents.blogspot.com      just for fun.

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”

Star Ratings Matter Just as Much as (If Not More Than) Online Reviews

Star Ratings Matter Just as Much as (If Not More Than) Online Reviews

Chris Campbell

When it comes to swaying consumers’ purchase decisions, how persuasive are online reviews?

And how attractive -- or ugly -- do online ratings make a local business look? 

At a time when consumers can write Yelp reviews on pretty much anything they buy –

- and others can then read about it -- questions on the business impact of reviews and ratings

have become increasingly relevant.

Before choosing a restaurant, diners check out Yelp.

Before booking a hotel, travelers look up TripAdvisor.

Before selecting a doctor, patients take to Healthgrades or RateMDs. 

New research by ReviewTrackers set out to determine how reviews and ratings

can directly influence purchases from local businesses -- in this case, restaurants.

In a three-week survey of Internet users in the U.S. with an age range of 25 to 54 years,

respondents were asked one question: 

Would you eat at a restaurant with a 3-star rating?

More than one in three wouldn’t eat below four stars.

35.3 percent of survey respondents said that a 3-star rating (or below) on a 5-star scale

on platforms like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google would dissuade them from choosing

to eat at a particular restaurant. That represents approximately one in three diners in the US.

It’s worth noting that on Yelp, 67 percent of the 71 million reviews are 4- and 5-star reviews. The latest fact sheet released by the company also indicates that the restaurant category

generates the second-highest number of reviews, behind Yelp’s category for shopping.

Star ratings matter.

While the remaining 64.7 percent of respondents in ReviewTrackers’ survey are less picky

with where to eat, it remains clear that, for consumers and businesses alike, star ratings matter -- and are of equal importance as (if not greater than) the actual review text.

In his study “Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com," 

Harvard Business School researcher Michael Luca found that a 1-star improvement on Yelp translated to anywhere from a 5 to 9 percent swing on revenues.

Furthermore, local and independent restaurants were more affected by diner reviews

and ratings than chain restaurants.

Two Berkeley economists, meanwhile, discovered that the tiniest Yelp rating change –

- a half-star improvement -- makes it 30 to 49 percent more likely that a restaurant will sell out

its seats during peak hours. “Because [the review site] collects and aggregates the experiences

of a large number of patrons,” wrote researchers Michael Anderson and Jeremy Magruder,

“Yelp provides a forum to solve asymmetric information problems

about the quality of unfamiliar restaurants.”

A Cornell University study even goes so far as to suggest that, in the eyes of consumers,

the numerical ratings are seen as an objective measure of a business’ quality.

“Oftentimes, the online rating of a business is taken as a proxy for its objective quality rating,”

wrote researchers Oussama Fadil and Jake Soloff.

“The underlying assumption is that by average ratings across users of varying tastes 

and preferences, dependencies upon said factors are eliminated.”

Simply put: Star ratings matter because they serve as a useful and convenient source of information when consumers are researching a local business they’re not familiar with. 

This is most evident in industries like foodservice and hospitality, where consumers 

increasingly depend on review and rating sites to find places to eat.

As Luca summed up: “Restaurants are a classic example in economics where the consumer

has to make a decision based on very little information.”

Who relies more on reviews -- men or women?

Gender adds another interesting dimension to any conversation about online reviews.

According to new research by SheSpeaks, an online engagement platform,

as much as 38 percent of women said they trusted online reviews,

with 57 percent willing to spend more money on businesses 

with positive reviews and high ratings.

When it comes to finding restaurants, however, differences in how men and women perceive

and use reviews are less evident. In the ReviewTrackers survey, approximately 38 percent 

of male respondents said that they would not eat at a place with less than a 4-star rating,

compared to only 33 percent of female respondents.  

Build a 5-star reputation.

Online reviews and ratings undoubtedly have a major impact on a business’ reputation

and, therefore, performance. This makes it critical for marketers and business owners

to apply best practices in review management.

Claim your business listings. Asserting ownership of your business listing on platforms like Yelp, Google and TripAdvisor increases your visibility and enables you to more effectively listen

and respond to what customers are saying online.  

Monitor all relevant review sites. Staying on top of reviews and ratings allows you

to measure customer sentiment and provides you with valuable data that your business

can use to make customer experience and service improvements.

Respond to your customers. Management response to reviews drives engagement

and demonstrates that your business values customer feedback -- good and bad.

Generate more reviews. Build and strengthen your online reputation by raising awareness

of your business’ presence on online review sites and asking your happiest customers

to review your business.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/250838

Turbo Charged Reading: Read more>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later

Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR specialist and language dictionaries that are spontaneously accessed.

I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.

I can TCR an academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.

Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube 

How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

www.facebook.com/mreenhunt

www.pinterest.com/mreenhunt

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:

www.turbochargedreading.blogspot.com    

All aspects of regular, each-word reading and education.

TurboChargedReading uses these skills significantly faster

www.innermindworking.blogspot.com      many ways for you to work with the stresses of life

www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com     just for fun.

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”

So I got a $310 haircut. Here's what I learned about selling high-priced products.

So I got a $310 haircut.
Here's what I learned about selling high-priced products.
One of the best ways to increase profit margins for your business
is to charge more for your products and services.
In this video, you'll learn how to create a luxury "experience" for your customers
so you can feel confident charging them top dollar.

Turbo Charged Reading: Read more>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later

Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR software/engineering manuals for spontaneous recall – or pass that exam.

I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and rememberwhat I’ve read.

I can TCR an academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.

Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube  

How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

www.facebook.com/mreenhunt

www.pinterest.com/mreenhunt

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:

www.turbochargedreading.blogspot.com    

All aspects of regular, each-word reading and education.

Turbo Charged Reading uses these skills significantly faster

www.innermindworking.blogspot.com    many ways for you to work with the stresses of life

www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com   just for fun.

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”

6 Creative Ways to Use Overseas Virtual Assistants

6 Creative Ways to Use Overseas Virtual Assistants

James Parsons

Outsourcing work to overseas contractors has a bad reputation. 

Decades of U.S. businesses trying to find the cheapest possible labor in foreign markets 

led to a backlash, especially when the home economy was faltering. 

Everyone seems to have a horror story how of a low-paid contractor mismanaged a website,

created valueless content or simply took the money and disappeared.

But the problem can sometimes result from the pay. When an entrepreneur pays pennies

on the dollar compared with what it would cost domestically,

the results can sometimes end up being worth only a fraction of the cost as well.  

No matter what market is selected, keep the language barrier in mind.

Hiring overseas contractors to write fluent English content can be an exercise in frustration –

 not to mention the minefield of copyright flags. Instead, hire overseas virtual assistants 

to perform the following tasks that can often be done independent of language fluency:

1. Raw coding.

Javascript, HTML, cascading style sheets (CSS) -- coding languages are the same

whether a person's native language is English, Spanish, Japanese or anything else.

There's no need to worry about virtual assistants' English fluency 

when they are producing code for website modifications, plug-ins or landing pages.

Do worry about the quality of their code. But that’s easy to check. Does it work? Is it secure?

An overseas coder is just as likely to produce a quality website as a domestic one –

- and can do it at a fraction of the cost.

2. Scripted live chat.

OK, so scripted live-chat agents are going to sound a little stilted and unnatural when English

is their second language. Then again, if anyone is required to stick to a script,

he or she will suffer just as much with even if fluent in English and residing in the States.

Live-chat agents are paid to sit around and be available 

when a user needs a question answered on a website. 

They generally don’t need an intimate understanding of the business.

A handful of scripts and some basic information will enable them to answer most questions

that a user might pose through live chat. Plus, overseas agents are available

and alert late at night after business hours, ensuring quality service around the clock.

3. Lead generation.

Web site contact forms can be powerful sources of leads.

But it’s a time-consuming manual task to sort through the contact messages, 

determine which can be pursued as customer leads, 

find the ones requiring other attention and then pursue the leads.

Why bother doing it manually? A virtual assistant can just as easily sort through the contact forms and send a follow-up note to the most promising leads. If the virtual assistant proves effective, expand his or her role to include other forms of lead discovery.

4. Graphic design.

Like coding, imagery is somewhat of a universal language. There are just as many talented graphic designers overseas as there are domestically, and their services cost less.

Need a new logo designed, a brochure put together or a mockup for a website layout?

Any task that requires a graphic designer can be handled by an overseas virtual assistant. 

Another great idea is to outsource the creation of the company's infographics. 

A staffer in the States can handle the initial legwork of gathering the data;

the virtual assistant does the manual task of putting it together in a graphically compelling way. 

Determine whether to hire a general virtual assistant or a specialty graphic designer.

It all comes down to how much graphic work is needed. 

A specialist may be perfect for large projects, but a generalist can cover other tasks as well.

5. Social media management.

SproutSocial is an incredibly powerful tool for managing a company's social-media accounts,

but it takes hours to reply to mundane comments and gather basic analytics data.

Instead of doing it alone, make use of the integrated team management

to hire a virtual assistant to run the company's social-media accounts. 

It's possible to easily limit what the virtual assistant can access for security reasons.

Arrange for the virtual assistant to run the company's feeds and respond to comments

as they arrive. Then it's possible for the U.S. team to focus on creating the content

and making use of the analytics data to develop new plans.

6. Blogging.

Blogging involves a lot more than just writing content and publishing text.

There are a whole host of menial tasks that need doing -- and they could be done by anyone,

like backing up the blog and keeping the software up-to-date. 

Rather than worry about all these tasks, hire an overseas virtual assistant as a blog manager.

Those willing to take the time to experiment with various virtual assistants

may be able to find one with the skills to develop ideas for posts, draft outlines for them,

hunt down images and reference links and more.

At the end of the day, the entrepreneur will have more time to run the business 

and create content, with all the manual work handled overseas.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/236399

Turbo Charged Reading: Read more>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later

Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR music, poetry or self development material for internal knowing.

I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.

I can TCR an academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.

Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube  

How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

www.facebook.com/mreenhunt

www.pinterest.com/mreenhunt

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:

www.turbochargedreading.blogspot.com    

All aspects of regular, each-word reading and education.

Turbo Charged Reading uses these skills significantly faster

www.innermindworking.blogspot.com      many ways for you to work with the stresses of life

www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com     just for fun.

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”